Lineup announced for next summer’s Big Splash concert in Marystown

Rod Jackson and The Perfect Strangers will be among the performers for Marystown's Big Splash concert on Friday, Aug. 9, 2019. Rounding out the lineup are Bic and the Ballpoints, and Diezel Dogs. - Megan Frost

Committee aiming to make improvements over 2018 event

MARYSTOWN, N.L.

The Town of Marystown has announced the lineup for its Big Splash concert during next year’s Shining Seas Summer Festival.

During Marystown council’s meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 4, council voted to accept the tourism and special events committee’s recommendation Due South Promotions be hired as promotor for the concert.

The lineup selected for the event features Bic and the Ballpoints as headliners, along with Rod Jackson and The Perfect Strangers, and Diezel Dogs.

The cost for the package – including lights and sounds, accommodations, riders, et cetera – is $16,675, HST included.

The concert will take place Friday, Aug. 9, 2019. Last summer’s concert was held on a Saturday.

Tourism and special events committee chair Deputy Mayor Gary Myles said a number of scenarios were looked at for both Friday and Saturday nights.

Coun. Mike Brennan suggested the committee needs to look at the way the space at the Marystown Track and Field Complex is set up for the concert and offered his help.

“That has to change,” he said, adding the field setup needs to be more amenable for everyone involved.

Council considered this past year’s Shining Seas Summer Festival a success even though it lost $12,390. The Big Splash concert accounted for most of that amount.

The town paid $17,064 for the bands plus another $1,022 for accommodations and $1,000 for security. Bar expenses for the concert were $2,542. Other miscellaneous costs added roughly another $1,000 to the event.

The town took in $6,824 from ticket sales for the event along with $4,189 in bar sales for a total of $11,013.

“We said last year, that was a learning experience, and it’s OK to make mistakes, and we made mistakes, but now we’ve got to learn from our mistakes … but there’s a lot of things that we’re going to re-visit (next year) that I think will improve, not just the Big Splash, but the entire festival,” Myles said.